Ready in less than 30 minutes, Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Wings are the most tender and flavorful chicken wings you will ever have.
Serve these Instant Pot Wings with Bleu Cheese or Ranch Dressing in addition to Taco Dip and Pizza Rolls for a spread that is perfect for game day or a laid-back party.
Buffalo Chicken Wings are my husband's favorite go-to football snack and he has been known to devour more than his fair share while watching football games.
But convincing him that homemade buffalo wings are just as good as restaurant chicken wings, was a bit harder to sell.
That said, he has declared this recipe for Instant Pot Wings restaurant-worthy and is now his favorite version to enjoy during game day!
And I believe you too, will be amazed at just how good chicken wings turn out when prepared using the Instant Pot.
The moist heat of the Instant Pot keeps the chicken super tender and juicy. And then finished with a homemade buffalo sauce and crisped under the broiler to achieve irresistibly crispy skin, these Instant Pot Chicken Wings are incredibly full of flavor, lower in fat than fried wings, and incredibly easy to make.
Key Ingredients
- Chicken Wings: You can use either fresh or frozen chicken wings in the Instant Pot. I recommend using chicken drumettes, as they typically yield more meat. If using full wings, separate them into drumettes and flats to keep the cooking time the same.
- Seasonings: Seasoned salt, which is a mixture of salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and a few other spices is the perfect choice to add flavor to the wings before finishing them with your favorite sauce.
- Buffalo Sauce: I have included a simplified version of my homemade buffalo sauce recipe that is made with hot sauce, butter, garlic powder, and honey, as that is our preferred finishing touch for these wings. if you don't care for buffalo sauce, you can use barbecue sauce, teriyaki sauce, or honey mustard.
- Water: Any time you pressure cook, you need thin liquid. For this recipe, water is used. Use 1 cup of cold tap water for a 3 or 6-quart pressure cooker and 1-½ cups of cold tap water for an 8-quart pressure cooker.
How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Wings
- To prepare the Instant Pot for cooking, pour water into the inner pot and a rack or steamer basket. This will keep the chicken wings raised above the cooking liquid so they don't become soggy!
- If needed, separate the drumettes and flats from each other, removing and discarding the tips if desired.
- Place the wings into a large mixing bowl and sprinkle the seasoned salt over the chicken. Toss well to coat the wings, evenly with the seasonings. Note: If using FROZEN wings, the seasoning may not adhere to the meat as well, but you don't want to skip seasoning them altogether.
- Place the seasoned wings onto the rack in the inner pot or in a steamer basket.
- Seal the lid on the instant pot and set it to cook on high pressure for 10 minutes for fresh or defrosted chicken wings and 15 minutes for frozen chicken wings.
- Once the cooking time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally for at least 10 minutes. This is key to ensuring the meat stays nice and tender.
- While the wings are cooking, use this time to prepare the homemade buffalo sauce if you intend to season your wings with buffalo sauce, rather than a store-bought sauce. Simply combine the hot sauce, garlic powder, melted butter, and honey together in a small mixing bowl.
- Once the cooking time has elapsed and the pressure has been released, remove the pressure-cooked wings from the inner pot and place them into a large, clean mixing bowl.
- Drizzle the wings with half the prepared buffalo sauce, or ½ cup of your favorite sauce, and toss to coat.
- Place the chicken wings onto a foil-lined baking sheet or broiler pan and broil the chicken wings until the skin is crispy, flipping once to ensure both sides are nice and golden. This step is not necessary but highly encouraged, as most people prefer the crispy chicken skin on the wings.
- Once the wings are broiled, brush the remaining buffalo sauce over the chicken wings.
Instant Pot Chicken Wings Video
Want to watch me make this in my kitchen? Check out the recipe below!
Serving Suggestions
Just like any good chicken wing, these wings need to be served with lots of napkins and a side of homemade ranch dressing or bleu cheese dressing on the side. The side of celery and carrots are optional, but a classic pairing.
We personally love to pair Instant Pot Buffalo Wings with Pull-Apart Pizza Bread and French Onion Chip Dip for a spread that is perfect for game day!
More Instant Pot Chicken Recipes
- Instant Pot Chicken Breast
- Perfect Instant Pot Chicken Thighs
- Instant Pot Butter Chicken
- Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
- Instant Pot Whole Chicken
- Instant Pot Chicken Chili
If you enjoyed these Instant Pot Chicken Wings, I would love for you to leave a comment and review below.
Instant Pot Chicken Wings
Ingredients
For the Chicken Wings
- 3 pounds chicken drumettes or wings
- ½ tablespoon seasoned salt
- 1 cup water
For the Buffalo Sauce
- 1 cup hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
Instructions
- If needed, separate the drumettes and flats from each other, removing and discarding the tips if desired. Place the chicken wings in a large mixing bowl, add the seasoned salt, and toss to coat.
- For a 3 or 6-quart model, pour 1 cup of cold tap water into the inner pot. For an 8-quart model, use 1.5 cups of cold tap water. Place a rack or steamer basket inside the instant pot.
- Place the seasoned wings on the rack or in the steamer basket inside the inner pot. It is okay if you layer the wings on top of eachother.
- Seal lid of the pressure cooker, being sure vent knob is closed.
- For Fresh Wings: Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. For Frozen Wings: Cook on high pressure for 15 minutes.
- Once the cooking time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally for at least 5 minutes, 10 minutes is best.
- Remove the pressure-cooked chicken wings from the pressure cooker and place them into a clean bowl.
- In a separate small bowl, prepare the buffalo sauce by mixing together the hot sauce, honey, butter, and garlic powder until combined.
- Pour half the buffalo sauce (or YOUR favorite sauce) over the chicken wings and gently toss to coat in the sauce.
- Place the chicken wings on a baking sheet or broiler pan that has been lined with foil. Broil the chicken wings under high heat for 2-3 minutes per side, until the skin is golden and crispy.
- Brush the broiled wings with additional buffalo sauce and serve immediately.
Molly
Going to make these tomorrow, but I’m wondering what the “spice rub” is in step one....?!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Molly! The spice rub is my homemade seasoned salt. I hope you enjoy!
Melissa
Excellent wings! We made them tonight and they were great- thanks for the recipe!
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoyed Melissa
Brian
Perfect texture. A little on the sweet side for my taste, I'm going to cut the honey in half the next time I make these. Great recipe, super easy and tasty.
Kristen Chidsey
I am glad you enjoyed Brian. Great idea to cut the honey to adjust for your tastes too!
Nancy Dyck
Hi. I’m a brand new IP owner and have spent some time reading your recipes and information. You refer to using a rack or steamer basket to cook the chicken wings in the recipe above. My IP Duo Nova came with a metal trivet. Can I use this for the 3 lb of wings, or do I need to buy an accessory online?
Thanks very much.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Nancy! Welcome to the world of instant pot cooking! The metal rack I am referring to is the metal trivet. That will work perfectly. Enjoy!
Christina DeFrancisco
I have 5 lbs of frozen drumsticks ... how long should I cook them for?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Christina, I would increase cook time to 15 minutes for defrosted drumsticks, and 20 minutes for frozen drumsticks. I hope you enjoy!
Jeanne Marie m Robertson
These were easy and yummy. I did however NOT toss them with the sauce until after I put them under the broiler for 3-5 minutes each side. I also halved the sauce and that was more than enough!
Kristen Chidsey
I am glad you enjoyed! I like to broil with the sauce to really seal in the flavor--and then toss again after broiling. It really makes a world of difference in the flavor 🙂
Lyv
I’m really hoping someone can answer, i just got through the frozen wings in the instant pot and they are so soft they completely felt apart. So i now have a mess of meat and bones in the oven to broil. Should i take my instant pot time down? Was the 15 min too long??
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Lyv! I am sorry you had an issue with this recipe. It may have been that your wings were much smaller than most. I would suggest cutting down the time by 3 minutes in the future.
Raquel
We have made these quite a few times now and they're a huge hit with family and friends! LOVE them! Our favorite hot sauce to put on these is Franks RedHot Chile 'n Lime!
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoy Raquel! And I love the idea the idea of using Chile n Lime seasoning--yum!
Jim
Easy, New to Instant Pot, simple and easy to prepare: Wife loved them.
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you and your wife enjoyed Jim! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment.
Lauren
Thanks for this great recipe!
I didn't have the seasoned salt on hand, in place I used
salt, pepper, garlic salt and Grill Mates Roasted Garlic and Herb.
My sauce was Red Hot, minced Garlic and melted butter. I drizzled honey before broiling...delicious!!!
I broiled each side for about 8 min. Watching them broil is like Must See TV.
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoyed Lauren--and the the honey addition too 🙂
Bella Hardy
I finally got to make these instant pot chicken wings this past weekend and it was such a hit!!
Kristen Chidsey
YAY! I am so glad you enjoyed Bella!
Sharon
I made these and they were delicious but the meat fell completly off the bones when we picked the wings up. Is this normal for IP wings? I'm used to my wings sticking to the bones so you can eat the meat off the bones. They were good though.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Sharon! I am so glad you enjoyed the wings so much. I would decrease the cook time by 1 minute in the future to see if that helps keep the meat intact. Also only do natural pressure release for 10 minutes. I have never had the issue with the meat falling off, but those tips should help. 😊
JAB
Such a tasty, easy lunch with ingredients you should already have in your pantry. I almost skipped the honey step because I thought it would be too sweet with the sweet potatoes, but it was a great accompanying element to the spice. Didn’t measure spices, just sprinkled over top of potatoes.
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoyed!
Dayana
Thank you for posting the different variations to make this recipe. I just started my Keto journey and was happy to see the change to your recipe to fit those that choose to cook keto. Thanks again!
Kristen Chidsey
Absolutely! Hope you enjoy!
Shelia
This was my first time and I used Roberts Reserve pineapple, coconut mango Tequila sauce. Excellent total time about 30 minutes
Kristen Chidsey
Oh that combination of flavors sounds amazing Shelia! Glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Ellen McCammon
Could you explain more what is meant by “remove tips and separate drumettes and flats separated ?” Thanks for the great recipe!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Ellen! If you purchase chicken wings that are are whole--they may need to have tips removed and be separated into 2 pieces (most wings are sold already separated). If you purchase your wings whole, you just want to locate the joints and use a pair of kitchen shears to snip through--leaving you with three parts: the Drumette, the Wingette (often called a Flat), and the tip. Discard the tip and use the drumette and flat. This may help--as it shows pictures https://thecookful.com/how-to-cut-chicken-wings/
Ellen McCammon
Thanks for your quick response as I was on a tight schedule- Super Bowl! These turned out delicious even though not crisp. Maybe my broiler differed from yours. Will try longer next time. Your website has been great as I figure out how to use my Instant Pot.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Ellen! I am glad you enjoyed the chicken wings, even though they were not as crisp as you would have liked. And I am happy your finding helpful info on my site. Reach out any time with questions.
Cheryl Phillips
Thank you for the recipe. I'm wondering what the rub is made of?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Cheryl! This rub is my seasoned salt recipe, which is made up of paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, cayenne, salt and pepper.